By Christine Fabro
Some 409 Filipinos have been evacuated from conflict-torn Sudan amid a three-day ceasefire declared on Tuesday, April 25, Malacañang announced Thursday, April 27.
Of this, some 335 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and their family members left Khartoum on Wednesday, April 26, for Egypt via Wadi Halfa Highway.
Malacañang also reported that another 35 OFWs and 15 students were evacuated to Egypt with the help of Filipinos in Sudan and personnel from the Department of Migrant Workers.
According to Malacañang, the evacuees are now in “safe zones in Egypt border.”
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Wednesday night raised Alert Level 3 in Sudan amid clashes between two warring factions that broke out on April 15.
“The public is informed that Alert Level 3 (Voluntary Repatriation/Evacuation) has been raised for the whole of the Sudan region due to the ongoing political situation in the country,” the DFA advisory read.
READ MORE: Marcos: Gov’t preps evacuation plan for war-trapped Filipinos in Sudan
-ag
